Sorry, I forgot to mention that the Vesper Sparrow seen on Bachelor Island
is in a closed area of the refuge. Birds seen out there are known to
venture over to the River S or Carty Units that have public access.



Randy Hill

Ridgefield



From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Randy Hill
Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2017 9:34 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Cc: portland-area-birds at googlegroups.com
Subject: [Tweeters] Clark County Vesper Sparrow



Checking out a few locations along Lower River Road this morning searching
for 10 black-hooded gulls (likely Bonaparte's) seen by Dan Friesz, including
Frenchman's Bar Park and around Vancouver Lake, a few notables were another
flock of American White Pelicans flying toward Portland and Vaux's Swifts at
five different spots. I had work to do at the Ridgefield NWR shop and
didn't get away from there until nearly 4pm. On the way out I was flushing
big bunches of Savannah Sparrows along the gravel road and noticed one with
white outer tail feathers. After several tries I had a look at it perched
on a fence as it started pouring down rain, and verified it was a VESPER
SPARROW. Photos of a wet bird on ebird when they clear. A bit of a rarity
locally, probably on its way to Fort Lewis. Also had a Red-shouldered Hawk
calling from the west, getting late for a "non-breeder". We were very close
to verifying the first nest record for WA back in 2014; maybe this will be
the year.



Randy Hill

Ridgefield